Martin & Angela Walters

Martin & Angela Walters came to Loosley Row ?

Hallmark spring 2025. (The last edition of Hallmark). Weather Report by Martin Walters.

I started doing weather readings in 1990 using a Stevenson screen and a rain gauge to record temperature, humidity and rainfall. The screen and the rain gauge have been located in the same place for now 35 years to provide a consistency of readings.

The readings are collected daily at about an average time of 5.00 p.m. and all the results are recorded on graph paper (all analog here).

I thought that Hallmark readers would be interested in the highs and lows over the years and especially for temperature and rainfall and I have collated this information in a tabular form as follows:

Highest daily temperature: 102* F (19/7/2022)

Lowest daily temperature: 12* F (10/2/1991)

Highest daily rainfall : 67.1 mm (2.64ins ) (23/9/1992)

Wettest year : 1062.6 mm (41.83ins) 2024

Driest year : 570.7 mm (22.47ins) 1996

Warmest year: (overall night and day average): 53.3*F (2022)

Coldest year : (overall night and day average): 47.91*F (1996)

I also have a Negretti and Zambra barograph which charts atmospheric pressure and as with the other readings, I have a full 35 year record.

Maximum pressure: 1048mb (27/1/1992)

Minimum pressure: 955mb (2/11/2023) Storm Cirian

An interesting area of analysis is mid-May, the visitation of the four Ice Saints — St.Mamertus (11th May), St.Pancras (12th May),St. Servatius (13th May) and St. Boniface of Tarsus (14th May). These dates in mid-May are feared by gardeners and farmers as a late frost can decimate any tender crops and indeed the more superstitious will delay sowing such crops until after the Saints have gone.

From my records 1995,1996, 2005, 2010,2012, 2019, 2020, and 2021 air frosts were recorded but other years also saw a noticeable dip in night time temperatures. In 2000 and 2017 however the Ice Saints were on holiday as the night time temperature in those years remained over 50* F